Well at least Kiefer Sutherland does. In this article we learn that he does like chess.
Mary Lynn Rajskub, known to the viewers as Chloe O’Brian, revealed some facts about her co star Kiefer Sutherland. According to her, the talented actor loves playing chess and spends time in the game whenever he can manage.
Chess match between Super Bowl MVPs will certainly be full of chatter.
Peyton Manning will spend Saturday night doing his usual work, barking instructions at the line of scrimmage.
Ray Lewis will try to match Manning word for word, jab for jab, audible for audible. Their teammates have been through enough of these rounds to know it will be the most entertaining, and loudest, chess match of the divisional-round weekend. It’s Peyton versus Ray, The Sequel.
“It can get pretty chaotic out there,” Colts left tackle Charlie Johnson said with a laugh, reflecting on other times he’s been in the crossfire. “They’ve played against each other so many times that Peyton will make a check and then Ray will make a check and then Peyton will make another check. In a way, it’s kind of fun to listen to.”
Read the rest of it. It’s kinda fun. If you like football you’ll enjoy it.
I had mentioned in an earlier post that I was all agog over Chess.com. Well I am. For years I’ve never really had chess partners that I could play with and the local chess club doesn’t really fit my work schedule. But Chess.com seems to be working for me. I have a couple of games on the go (and another one on GameKnot.com, another excellent site (but more on that another day). I’m kinda wondering what my rating will settle in at …. I’m guessing 1050-1100. But we’ll see. I’ll post the results of my first game when it completes.
Some nice research by Jason Rintz resulted in the following article describing the early days of chess. If you’ve played the game for a while but haven’t looked into the history you’ll find this article interesting.
Hindus in India playing an early version of chess
The history of chess is as complex as the game’s rules and strategy themselves. While there are no definitive origins of chess - for example who, where, which particular year, as they all relate to invention - there is adequate historical evidence available to narrow down to a general time frame of its first appearances. Originating in the east and gradually spreading westward, following the historical arc of military and monarchical domination, chess began as a game reflecting the art of war but eventually evolved into one symbolic of European class structures by the end of the medieval age.
Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3.
Finally got around to joining Chess.com. It is the site for the person who wants to play chess and doesn’t have anyone around to play with. It’s also for the person who really wants to improve and doesn’t have anyone around who’s a better player or a chess teacher. It’s also for the person who really appreciates well put together websites. And this one is really well put together. As someone who has put together a few websites in the past I can really appreciate the technical awesomeness of Chess.com. Great graphics, easy to navigate and lots of great features.
I’ll have more to say later.
A 19 year old Norwegian is now the top ranked chess player in the world.
Norway’s Magnus Carlsen has become the youngest person ever to top the world ranking in chess.
The 19-year-old was listed as number one in the World Chess Federation’s January statistics with a rating of 2,810.
The Norwegian Chess Federation Monday said Carlsen is the youngest person to hold the title since ratings were introduced in 1971.
Came across an article by Chess Writer, Shelby Lyman, quoting Ben Franklin’s view of Chess.
In his late-18th-century essay “The Morals of Chess,” Benjamin Franklin declared that life is a variation of the game.
“We learn by chess the habit of not being discouraged by present appearances in the state of our affairs, the habit of hoping for a favourable change, and that of persevering in the search of resources,” he said.
“The game is so full of events, . . . and one so frequently, after long contemplation, discovers the means of extricating one’s self from a supposed insurmountable difficulty.”
So very true.
When shopping for a chess set, especially when you are matching up chess boards and chess pieces, there are some useful rules of thumb to consider. I came across knightofchess.com and found some useful insights.
Pairing up chess pieces with a chess board takes some careful thought.
The first thing that must be considered is the size of the base of the King. The King is the largest chess pieces and will therefore have the largest base diameter. The obvious goal is to make sure that the square of the chess board is larger than the base diameter of the Chess Pieces. It is fine to leave it at that. For those who want better refinement, the rule of thumb is to have a chess board square be 33% larger than the base diameter of the King. So, if your King has a diameter of 1.5 inches, then you should aim for a chess board with 2.0 inch squares (1.5 inches x 1.33 = 2.0). Of course you can select 1.75 inches and it will look great, but you probably don’t want to go too much larger.
Some chess sets can be quite pricey so it pays to understand what you need to be looking for.
